Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
apart in a few distinct ways. Whereas a film or TV show is a linear experience,
pulling the viewer along from scene to scene, games can be nonlinear, and they
also allow the gamer to interact with events in the game.
There are a few different forms of interactivity:
user-to-technology interactivity This type of interactivity can occur when
someone accesses a website like an online dictionary. You can type in a word,
and the website returns information to you.
player-to-technology interactivity This is the type of interaction generally
found in a game, where the player can pick up an object or turn something on
that affects the gameplay.
player-to-player interactivity Social games and massively multiplayer online
games (MMOGs) offer this type of interactivity, where players can interact with
each other in game.
The ability of the player to interact with a game occurs through interactive
screens. These screens, known as interfaces or the user interface (UI), tend to
fall under two main categories:
Dispensing information These tend to tell the player things such as how much
money they have, how much life they have left, and so on.
allowing for action These aspects of a screen allow the player to do something
in the game such as pick up an object, fire a weapon, jump, and so on.
e a r l y I d e a s o n I n t e r F a C e s
In 1945, Vannevar Bush, a scientist at MIT, wrote an article titled “As We
May Think.” In it, he proposed a method for making data more acces-
sible on microfilm using hyperlinks. This was the first thinking that helped
develop UIs.
Gui and huD
One common type of interface is a graphical user interface (GUI) . In other words,
you can see and then click something. In contrast, with a command-line inter-
face (CLI) like the one you encountered in Colossal Cave Adventure in Chapter 2,
“Gameplay Styles,” you type in commands. The GUI and CLI are both examples
of UIs.
the GUi is often
referred to conver-
sationally as the
“gooey.”
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